iOS

According to a report from the Associated Press, Apple plans to file legal papers in which it will argue that its fight with the FBI of decrypting an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen should be settled by Congress. This report follows Apple CEO Tim Cook’s letter to employees in which he stated that the government should withdraw its demands because they are invalid under the All Writs Act from 1789.

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Fabric, a subsidiary of Twitter, has today expanded its comprehensive platform for developers by releasing an iPhone app, Fabric for iPhone. The app lets developers monitor various analytics and diagnostics about their applications while on the go. Stats like current active users and crash rates are instantly visible from the dashboard.

Most notably, the app features push notifications for realtime updates about major issues. For instance, developers will get a push alert if their app suddenly starts crashing for a new reason.

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Apple has released the fourth iOS 9.3 public beta to non-developer testers today. iOS 9.3 public beta 4 follows this week’s fourth developer iOS 9.3 beta release as well. The latest beta cleans up issues introduced in the last version while adding some new features as well.

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Apple has added several new channels and cable internet services onto the new Apple TV universal search and Siri search today, following the addition of Fox and National Geographic earlier in the month. Today’s enhancements brings Watch ABC, Disney Channel, Disney Jr and Disney X.D into the mix allowing users to quickly search across these services in the Apple TV UI. As shown in the screenshot, Modern Family now lists ABC as a viewing option alongside Netflix, iTunes and Hulu. Selecting Watch ABC takes the user directly to the app with the show ready to watch.

Unfortunately, international Apple TV users continue to be left in the dark regarding ‘universal’ search. Outside of the US, a handful of countries get iTunes + Netflix integration in search results … the remainder only get iTunes.

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Apple has released the fourth iOS 9.3 beta for developers to test on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The first iOS 9.3 beta appeared in early January. Apple is expected to release the iOS 9.3 software update to all users around next month’s iPhone 5se/iPad Air 3 event. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.

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In his security and privacy post regarding iOS’s current music library, Ben Dodson adds a small addendum explaining that with iOS 9.3 apps can now add music that currently exists in the Apple Music catalog directly to a user’s music library. While a small and under-discussed feature, it opens up further possibilities for many different kinds of apps and application developers.

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Obtained via Buzzfeed, Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent a memo this morning to employees reaffirming its position against the government in the Apple/FBI iPhone backdoor case. He thanks Apple employees and feedback from customers for their public support and says that whilst Apple has no sympathy for terrorists, the data security of hundreds of millions of law-abiding citizens is threatened by the government order.

Apple wants the government to withdraw its demands justified by the All Writs Act and encourages an open discussion between law enforcement, technology and privacy experts on privacy issues. In addition, Apple has posted an expanded question and answers page as a followup to Tim Cook’s original open letter to better inform the public of the situation.

In the memo, Cook openly notes that it does not feel right to be fighting against the government when defending constitutional liberties and freedoms.

Apple is a uniquely American company. It does not feel right to be on the opposite side of the government in a case centering on the freedoms and liberties that government is meant to protect.

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The FBI has released a press statement explaining its motivation for resetting the iCloud password in the San Bernardino iPhone backdoor/unlock case. It seems like a screw-up, which prevented Apple from extracting data from the phone via iCloud. However, the FBI says that the county did it, in collaboration with FBI, in order to gain access to the suspect’s iCloud account. It says it was able to successfully retrieve iCloud backups up to October 19th. However, the reason it wants Apple to create a backdoor into the locked iPhone is because it believes there is more data on the phone relevant to the case yet to be uncovered.

For unknown reasons, the iPhone did not backup anything to iCloud after 19th October. It is possible Syed Farook disabled the feature or the iPhone simply did not return to a known WiFi network whilst being plugged in. It is not known if a later iCloud backup would have yielded more information …

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The Apple vs FBI encryption clash continues to ramp up, with the Department of Justice filing a motion today to force Apple to comply with the FBI’s request and make custom iPhone firmware that would let the FBI brute-force into an iPhone related to the San Bernardino attacks, via CNBC.

Although tech giants are generally taking Apple’s side on the matter, with the iPhone backdoor seen as a ‘dangerous precedent’, this is the first time the DoJ has entered the conversation and it is clearly not on Apple’s side.

Via the New York Times, the Justice Department claimed Apple’s refusal to cooperate was driven by marketing concerns and its public branding.

It said that Apple’s refusal to help unlock the phone for the F.B.I. “appears to be based on its concern for its business model and public brand marketing strategy,” rather than a legal rationale.

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The stock Camera app found in iOS is decent enough. It’s great for the casual shooting of photos and videos, and more importantly, it’s easy to use and almost always works.

But just like there are dedicated photo apps for improving the quality of your photography, the same thing is true for videographers. If you’re looking to improve your iPhone or iPad videography skills, then look no further than FiLMiC Pro, a $9.99 universal app.

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Apple today has released a new version of iOS 9.2.1 that will remedy bricked iPhones affected by ‘error 53‘ after servicing hardware with Touch ID (via TechCrunch). iOS 9.2.1 is the same version number released last month, but the updated build from 13D15 to 13D20 reflects the resolution for bricked iPhones.

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At long last PayPal has updated its iOS app with a completely redesigned interface that optimizes the experience for iPhone 6/iPhone 6s and 6 Plus/6s Plus users. PayPal announced the update in a post on its blog, detailing all of the new features, including a new start screen, improved Send and Request interface, new account info details, and much more.

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Apple is today rolling out another new way to buy an iPhone at an Apple Store, a combination of its existing iPhone Upgrade Program and trade-in offers. Right now, on the normal iPhone Upgrade Program, customers can pay about $32 a month for a brand new iPhone 6s on a two-year agreement with an annual trade-in option.

What the ‘Trade Up With Installments’ offers is a reduction of that monthly fee, in exchange for a trade-in of your existing smartphone. For example, you can trade in your current iPhone 6 to get a new iPhone 6s with a 2-year payment plan of $15/mo. What’s interesting is that you can trade in an Android device, not just iPhones — Apple will give up to $300 in trade-in value for Android handsets.

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New details on Apple’s ‘Reuse and Recycle’ trade-in program have surfaced in a new Bloomberg report. Tim Culpan details the break down and destruction process that each iPhone, Mac, and iPad receives at one of the many Apple recycling contractors’ plants. With over 50 agreed upon regulations and requirements, the contractors have a heavily imposed process to adhere to.

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Twitter has toady announced long-awaited support for native GIF search with partners Giphy and Riffsy. The addition of GIF search means that users will now be able to search for GIFs from a library of thousands and instantly insert them into their direct message or tweet.

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Apple has just posted an open letter in response to the FBI unlock request for iPhone data in a San Bernardino court case, signed by Tim Cook. Apple says that the FBI court order is an unprecedented step which threatens the security of its customers. With ‘implications far beyond the legal case at hand’ at stake, Apple has posted its public response to start communication with regard to this issue.

Apple says it has complied with valid warrants in regard to the San Bernardino case, but now the FBI has gone too far in Cook’s eyes … asking Apple to create something ‘ too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.’

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